If the gospel was not a part of your life...

[Bini]

If the gospel was not apart of your life and you had never been exposed to it, how do you think your life might be different? Would you be a hell-raising sinner? Mostly balanced with ups and downs? Or would you be naturally drawn to the gospel lifestyle, despite, not knowing of it? (Like, not drinking or smoking, and waiting for marriage before intimacy.)

[char713]

If I had never been exposed to the gospel that means my parents and grandparents would not have been either. My mother readily admits that she would probably have gone down the same path that most of her cousins and friends in high school did, which was heavy illicit drug use, heroin most especially. So I might never have been born, and if I had, I might have died young. 

 

Or if we don't go to that extreme, say for instance that my parents were introduced to the gospel at the same time as their parents, but by the time they got married they were either inactive or had left entirely. I think I would have been keen to date steadily too early, and there is a lot stuff that comes with that. I do think my schooling would have gone quite differently, there would have been no pressure from my ward to attend BYU so "settling" for the University of Colorado would not have been a problem for me. In fact I probably would have aimed a little higher and gone somewhere entirely different. I do not think I would have many WoW concerns though, I have always hated the idea of surrendering any of my faculties to substances, even feared it a little I think. I've been on hormone injections before, and those highs and lows were enough for me :) I think I still would have looked for religion though. If the LDS faith is excluded from this hypothetical scenario.. I think I might have ended up a methodist, which is what my maternal grandparents were before the missionaries found them. 

Edited June 4, 2015 by char713

[Just_A_Guy]

One thing that Mormonism does a very good job of, is pointing out the philosophical flaws in other religious/moral systems, especially Christianity (not that we explicitly set out to do this; but many distinctive Mormon teachings can only be fully understood in the context of what other churches were teaching about the same topic during Joseph Smith's lifetime. You can't talk about a restoration without explaining, to some degree, why it was necessary).

For that reason--even though it sounds cliche--there's really no telling where I would be outside of Mormonism. I suspect I would be a very selfish and amoral person--but not really a dangerous one, since a) I'm an introvert, b) I'm not intellectually gifted enough to lie and get away with it over the long term, and c) I'm too lazy to put forth the effort it would take to take over the world or really hurt the people I thought deserved it.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Just_A_Guy

[Palerider]

I have been a member all my life and from time to time wonder about my life if I wasn't a member of the church. I am sure I would be of the world and in the world. I hope I wouldn't be crazy bad. Lol

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

Honestly, I would probably be an alcoholic (it seems to run in my family).

And well..the rest of my reflections are too grim for what I think was meant to be a light-hearted topic.

[pam]

I know I would definitely be a social drinker.  Many of my friends are.  

 

I would hope that I'd still have an understanding of Christ.  Just not in the sense that I do now.

[Bini]

I think I'd be living a troublesome life. By nature, I'm strong headed and rebellious but having the gospel in my life has helped guide me to better choices. The gospel did ingrain in me that fathers and mothers are important, so even though I've taken a different path, I believe that being a daddy or mummy are one of the greatest accomplishments one can achieve. Overall, exposure to the gospel has softened my heart, as I recall a time when I had absolutely no desire to ever have children. I'm very glad my outlook on marriage and parenthood has changed. Saying all this, while I might have struggled with the WOW and LOC, I am still a driven individual and I'm most certain I'd accomplish whatever goals I'd set out for myself.

[Windseeker]

The quick answer is that without the LOC and WOW growing up I would have been a terror. Both my younger brothers are alcoholics and one of them is taking so much morphine that one of his regular doses would kill me if I ever took it. 

 

Where I grew up there were plenty of opportunities to greatly indulge in the above activities, but luckily I had made the decision before hand to abstain. 

 

Because of that it gave me a great perspective and forced me to the outside of all the circles I was in, which was both good and bad. I was very protected and it gave me a vantage to observe and learn allot about people and life.

 

On the other side I feel I would have been more successful in some areas of my life. I think if I did not know I had a loving Father in Heaven and that this life was temporary,  I would have worked harder and made more effort for temporal success. 

[Guest]

I'd be dead before my 21st bday.

[The Folk Prophet]

This is a difficult question in a few ways. Since I was "exposed" to it from my faithful parents, the question implies that my parents would have been something other than LDS. Am I to presume from that that they wouldn't have taught me values, responsibility, etc? Probably not. I assume they still would have. And my parents teaching and how I was raised influences my character as much as my being LDS does I think. But how much of a difference would there have been in that without the principles of the church? Who knows.

 

For example, my father always did his hometeaching. He always took me hometeaching with him when I turned 12. Without the LDS church, we wouldn't have been going hometeaching. But would my father have been less faithful to whatever principles of service and work he DID believe in? Would have have involved me less? Was my fathers commitment to this in his personality or only in a determination to serve because of his testimony in the gospel?

 

Hard to say.

 

So my guess is that, for the most part, I would be sort-of approximately the same person I am -- but with a lot more experience with alcohol, drugs, sex*, and the like in my college years (of which, I might point out, I had none) -- and with much less serving others (I am naturally selfish and lazy, but I serve a lot because I believe it to be my duty).

 

But that's only a guess. Alternatively, I could be in jail, dead, or -- who knows -- a serial killer. I am, I know, HIGHLY motivated by the gospel and drive myself in many, many ways by both the love I have for it and the guilt that comes from betraying it. So who knows the level of depravity I could have descended to without the gospel.

 

*edit: upon further reflection, this probably wouldn't have changed much as I still would have been every bit the social dork I was/am.

Edited June 4, 2015 by The Folk Prophet

[Traveler]

I do not think there would be big changes in my life - I believe my parents have had a more profound influence in my life than has the restored LDS religion.  But since my parents were LDS it is hard to say what is what or what is family influence and what in the family came from restored truths.

 

Personally my biggest concern would be the relationship with my wife.  Without the doctrine of eternal marriage and family - I am not sure that we would have stayed together.  It is likely she would have left me even though I initially thought she was the difficult one to deal with.  It is likely we would not have had 5 children.

 

Science would play a more profound roll in my life - I would have spent much more of my life at work, with playing music and personal physical activities - like cycling.  It is possible I would have killed my oldest son when he was a teenager - convinced I was doing the world a favor (BTW we are now very close and friendly and I really do not know what has changed more - me or him).

 

I would not have any Word of Wisdom problems.  I hate taking an aspirin for a head ache, or even the novacane at the dentist I do not like a buzz feeling at all and I cannot stand the smell of tobacco smoke.  I am hyper enough without caffeine and being able to sleep at night is too important to me and I use self hypnotic methods to put myself to sleep already.

 

And those of the forum that think I am arrogant now - I would be much much worse.  The teaching of the church have taught me to at least to try to be humble and kind to others - otherwise I do not think I could tolerate idiots.

[Guest]

I'd probably be a very spiritual alcoholic. 

[Traveler]

I'd probably be a very spiritual alcoholic. 

 

I think I may have met your other self.

[prisonchaplain]

I was 10 when I came to faith.  A lot of things could have happened to me--mostly bad.  Alcoholism, drugs, severe narcissism, suicide (I was not depressed, but I knew three people who killed themselves before I turned 21), killed in the military (it's a long story, I'll tell some time), a life of political service . . . not sure if I would have even married--the way I met my sweetheart was 100% a God thing...this is an ugly "what-if" road to travel on.  So thankful God got me young!

[Vort]

I'd probably be a very spiritual alcoholic. 

 

That's a redundancy, right? :)

 

There's a reason they're called "spirits"...

[Guest]

That's a redundancy, right? :)

 

There's a reason they're called "spirits"...

 

 

LOL! I'm usually right on top of a good pun, but that one slipped by me. 

[prisonchaplain]

Gives a whole new spin to the whole, "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual" line. 

[Palerider]

I'd probably be a very spiritual alcoholic.

I am trying to find the LAUGH button ..... Lol!!!!

[classylady]

I have often thought about that "what if" as the years have slipped by.  I think I'd still be "me"!  I decided to read the Old Testament and New Testament as a teenager (I'd already read the BoM, D&C, and PoGP) because I was searching and wanted to be spiritual.  It's who I am.  None of my 6 siblings ever had that desire as a teen, though most of them are strong members of the church.  I think I would have looked for spirituality in reading scriptures, good books, nature, and a church.  If there was no WofW, I doubt I would be a smoker.  I might drink coffee, (love the smell of it), and tea.  Most likely, I'd be a social drinker.  I doubt I would drink heavily.

 

I probably would have searched for a church to belong to. Because of my desire to be spiritual, and wanting to believe in Jesus Christ as a young person, perhaps I would have been led to the gospel by the Spirit.  I believe the Lord would have known of my desire to believe in him, and to do what was right, that the missionaries probably would have found me.

 

I used to think that I would not have joined the church if I hadn't been born into it.  But, as time has gone by, and understanding myself more over the years, I now believe I would have joined.  I would have read the BoM that the missionaries gave me, and I would have put Moroni's promise to the test.  I might not have gotten an answer right away (this is what happened in my real life), but I think I would have persevered and continued reading and searching, and eventually getting my spiritual answer.  I believe I would have agreed to be baptized if I received that witness.

 

My Spirit is who I truly am. The Gospel just makes sense to me.  I believe I would have recognized the message as being true if I heard the missionaries.  So, I would have been baptized and belong to the church.  I'd be a convert instead of being born into the church.

 

The Lord knows who I am.  I believe I would have been given the opportunity to be a member of the church, whether by conversion, or being born into it.

[Capitalist_Oinker]

I'm embarrassed to say this, but I'd probably be in prison; no doubt for doing bodily harm to a few of God's more bothersome children.    

[Blackmarch]

I'd either be in jail, or have commited suicide.

[SpiritDragon]

I probably wouldn't have got married thinking I'd play the field and not be tied down to one woman. And I wouldn't have likely realized that the getting married option is the better of the two.

 

Otherwise I think I'd be pretty similar, certainly in my lack of desire to harm my body with drugs and alcohol - and yet I might just have got tied up in them anyway because outside of meeting girls at church it seems the bar is the default place to go. One sip could've been enough to change my attitude forever.

[Gretchen]

I'd be dead.

[David13]

I was raised as a Catholic from birth by my mother.  My father would take us to church, but only to take us, not because he had any interest in going.

And I attended some Catholic school for a few years.

So by the time I was old enough to begin to understand the different between right and wrong, I began to believe I was sent here, or brought here to choose the right path.  And my parents strongly reinforced that.

However, as an adult I had no involvement with the church, and as I say wandered aimlessly for 40 years, til I got into this Church.

I had found it as a young man, 13 or so.  One of the missionary sisters told me "why don't you come back later and join the church".  I finally did 52 years later.

I stood for years in Utah looking at the meeting houses and admiring the whole scene.  But it took a long time for me to actually walk in the door.

As an adult I got involved in alcohol, sex, and an inappropriate marriage.  But no children.

I got rid of the alcohol and cigarettes and sex long ago.

So I have been worthy for a long time.  Or at least ready for the baptism.

(I acknowledge my unworthiness before God at all times)

I just regret that I didn't walk in the door 20 or 30 years ago.

I had the chance.  They brought me a Book of Mormon 30 years ago.  I just didn't do anything with it.

dc

Edited June 15, 2015 by David13

[Guest MormonGator]

I'd be a hedonist and even more of an insufferable egomaniac than I already am. 

Edited June 14, 2015 by MormonGator